


From the flames

by little_wanderer



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, M/M, yuri!!! on ice - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-24 06:24:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9707708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_wanderer/pseuds/little_wanderer
Summary: Some say it was magic, some a gift from god, though no matter the origin it was, for most, a blessing. Many thousands of years ago, just as man was beginning to walk, to talk, to write, upon man’s wrist appeared a name. The name of your soul mates. For most, only a single name appeared; however, some were born with two and some were given none. In many cases, the person whom had your name, you possessed theirs. For those whom had the fortune of a soulmate, life was typically bliss. Day after day of happiness, but as humans do, greed, lust, gluttony rage rampant through the human heart. Some betray their soulmate, condemning themselves from happiness, but for Victor, there would be no greater than the prospects gained by his. Would he be able to ensnare the heart of his unsure soulmate, or would he too be condemned to life without love.





	1. The name Upon his wrist

**Author's Note:**

> First chapters are hard to write, but I hope you all like this!

Some say it was magic, some a gift from god, though no matter the origin it was, for most, a blessing. Many thousands of years ago, just as man was beginning to walk, to talk, to write, upon man’s wrist appeared a name. The name of your soul mates. For most, only a single name appeared; however, some were born with two and some were given none. In many cases, the person whom had your name, you possessed theirs. For those whom had the fortune of a soulmate, life was typically bliss. Day after day of happiness, but as humans do, greed, lust, gluttony rage rampant through the human heart. Some betray their soulmate, condemning themselves from happiness. 

 

When he was born, Victor Nikiforov did not have a soul mate. His first years of his life his parents had endlessly fretted over him, constantly worried for his future. By the time he was in school, most of his classmates had gotten their names. It was not until the winter of his fourth year when the lonesome characters appeared on his wrist. They were of no alphabet familiar to them, but nevertheless they rejoiced. No longer did Victors mother need cry about his future, for it had secured in those fateful dashes of ink. When it had first appeared, Victor begged his parents to find the other child, though for all his wishes, something it had seemed was always in the way of the two. For all the love his parents bestowed upon Victor, they had seldom the time to find out the mystery language, let alone one child out of a billion. 

The excitement of his soulmate in those first few years began to fade. Victor now had no time to chase daydreams, between his schoolwork and skating he hardly had time even for friends. His life grew busier, his friends now reaching an age of understanding began to go off and find their own soulmates. Most had thus far dedicated many hours to learning their counters language so they may meet. Though Victor held resentment for the barrier and refused to learn, let alone look at his markings. Slowly his curiosity grew to resentment at the shackle of as simple name. Why had his soulmate never reached out to him? Was he alone in his markings? His unanswered questions led to his emotional desolation. When he began to make it big in skating, he was always careful to cover the tattoo with makeup. Though now, he covers it every day, making sure no one were ever to catch even the slightest glance at the characters inscribed to his wrist. If asked, he hid behind the façade of publicity. After all wasn’t it better for sales if anyone thought it could be their name upon his wrist. Behind his lies, Victor hid, he ran from his fate until he could no longer. 

There could be no mistaking it. The name gently illuminated by the soft led’s of Victors phone was a dead match to the one on his wrist. How had he missed it. How could he have missed the name of his soulmate. He’d even shared the same ice with him. In all fairness, the boy was small, unassuming and painfully shy. Even at the banquet, he’d never once taken off his gloves, Victor thought of it as a fashion choice, but when he’d drunkenly began to dance he thought it all the more curious when he’d left them on. Not even Chris could persuade the drunk to remove the obscure clothing. Katsuki Yuuri was, to Victor, an odd man, but he was still his soulmate. The object of Victors unresolved, unrequited longing. And here he was, dancing to Victors gold medal routine. Was it an answer to his questions. Was Yuuri calling to him? 

Perhaps it was a rash decision, but Victor could at least answer Yuuri’s call to him. Yuuri, the sloppy drunk, slovenly begging him to be his coach…Yes, I’ll be his coach, Victor thought to himself, attempting to justify the trip to japan. At the very least it would be something new to him. Perhaps he could gain some experience in coaching, after all it’s where h’d eventually end up…

It was not hard to find Yuuri’s residence, his family owned the last operational Onsen in Hatsetsu. At first he’d posed as a tourist, though that was short lived as everyone of the household knew who he was…Apparently Yuuri had always been a fan. Much to his disappointment, Yuuri was not yet home. In the meantime Victor decided to occupy himself in the refreshing waters of the hot spring. The waters did little to ebb away at his fears. Surely he couldn’t come out and directly say Yuuri was his soulmate? No, he wouldn’t reveal himself until he knew that he too belonged to Yuuri, only then would he commit himself as more than a coach. 

It wasn’t long before his counterpart appeared before him, stunned as to why Victor was there.

“w-what are you doing here?” yuuri begged, still out of breath from the run over. He did not wish to admit it, but Victor was disappointed at the others confusion. It meant that his rendition of Stammi Vicino had not been a call to him as soulmates, the utter bewilderment on yuuri’s face confirming Victors suspicion. Nonetheless Victor still had hope that he was Yuuri’s, besides he couldn’t give up so early, now could he. 

“Yuuri, starting today I’m your coach.”Victor said, rising, stretching his hand out in invitation to the other “I’ll make you win gold at the grand prix final!”

The first few weeks after their meeting went by quicker than Victor could comprehend. Life in Japan was vastly different to that of Russia, but he loved every minute. Although most of them were spent training Yuuri back into shape. Despite the rigorous workouts, yuuri never once took off his gloves, he never wore anything other than long sleeved shirts and pants. Even at home, Yuuri was always fully clothed. Victors curiosity grew day by day. What could his soul mate be hiding? Was it a name? victor knew the man was nearly painfully shy, though he set out to break down those walls. Perhaps the first step to Yuuri’s trust would lie behind the secret of his gloves.


	2. his lost trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor drinks a bit too much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Victor's a little too Curious. Who's POV would you like to see coming up? Yuuri? Mari?

Victor

Eventually, yuuri’s shell began to crack, it seemed to Victor that he began to smile more, to even laugh at his jokes. He hated to admit it, but it was somewhat in part to Yurio’s influence during ‘ Onsen on ice’. The outlandish and incredibly stubborn 15 year old had somehow helped Yuuri with more than just landing a salchow. Victor would have liked to thank him, but he’d vanished before the end of competition. Even so, silently, Victor thanked him for Yuuri’s smiles. Before he seldom saw any emotion other than anxiety. With every laugh, he grew more and more tempted to disclose his true intent to Yuuri. But he knew he was still to shy for that. Even so, the thought of heartbreak also restrained him. If Yuuri wasn’t branded with his name….well, Victor preferred not to think about that. He truly was a hopeless romantic a times. 

After some time, Victor began assaulting his student with requests. Endless chorus’s of “Yuuri, let’s sleep together!” “Yuuri, come to the onsen with me!”. Much to Victors disappointment, Yuuri denied all his requests. He’d even struggled in vain to ask Yuuri in Japanese. “Yuuri, watashi to katsudon ga tabetai ka?”. Even this had little effect over Yuuri. 

Victor felt that he had an abstract understanding of Yuuri. HE knew facts about him, but something was holding them back from truly engaging. Yes, yuuri was beginning to open up to him, but Victor felt it wasn’t happening nearly soon enough. The more time he spent around him, the more he felt the need to be closer. Yuuri’s gloves, his long clothing soon became a nuisance to victor, anything that blocked from him the name upon Yuuri’s wrist he grew to despise. 

“Hey, Mari, can I ask you something?” the question had spilled forth from Victors lips before he could even grasp it in his mind. 

“You can ask, but I might not give you the answer you want.” She replied. Yuuri had gone out for the day and without him Victor was at a loss. With not speaking the language, he could   
seldom go out. 

“Why…why does Yuuri cover up so much?”

“He hasn’t told you yet?’ the shock on mari’s face was palpable, her features contorted into a confused mess.

“what? No if he did would I really be asking you?”

For several moments Mari was quiet, digesting the nature of Victors question. “It’s not my place to tell, Victor.”

“It can’t possibly be that complicated..”Victor reclined, growing agitated with his student and family. “he has to trust me. If it’s something important then as his coach I should know.”

“He doesn’t want you to pity him Victor. Can’t you at last let him have his dignity?” Mari’s voice growing darker, she stood. “ It doesn’t affect his skating so don’t push it.” And with that Mari left, giving Victor no answers. 

If only he’d had the grace to simply leave it alone. 

With every passing minute the bottle before him went down until there was scarcely a drop left. By the time Yuuri returned home, Victors mood of inquisitiveness had turned to annoyance, and the sake had not helped. Victor was near drunk. He’d never been good with abstaining from drink. .

“oi, yuuri come here?” The older man begged. Dutifully his student come over.

“Victor…are you drunk?” The younger asked, searching Victor for something he knew not of. 

“Very… Wana Go to the Onsen with meee?’

“Victor lets get you to bed..” Yuuri hauled Victor onto his feet and began slowly dragging him back to his room. 

In his drunkenness, Victor couldn’t help but to admire Yuuri. His dark hair was a beautiful contrast to his pale skin. Even though HE was drunk, Yuuri was so gentle with him, depositing Victor in his bed. 

“Yuuri, wait…Come sleep with me.” Wrapping His arms and legs around his smaller student, Victor pulled him closer to the bed. 

“Victor, no. You’re drunk go to sleep” 

“But I want to talk to my Yuuri~~.” He pleaded “ My Yuuri won’t tell me anything. Doesn’t he trust me?”

“Victor I trust you..Will you let me go?” Yuuri said, attempting to disentangle himself from Victors limbs. 

“I’ll let chu go if you show me what you’re hiding.” Victor let go of the struggling Yuuri, and using the momentum of his fall, pulled off his shirt. Victor, for perhaps the first time in his life was rendered speechless. Covering the left side of his body lay a map of scars. Angry, red, they covered the expanse of him, from his hand to his shoulders, chest and stomach, Victor could only assume they continued down his hip and leg. Though what was worse than the sheer shock of Yuuri’s injury, was the look of betrayal etched upon his face. Before he could utter even an apology, yuuri ran, abandoning Victor to his pity. 

“yuuri-!” Victor stumbled after him, but in his drunkenness could nt keep his feet under him. There he lay upon the floor, blanketed in guilt he cried. He cried for the hurt he caused his unknowing soul mate, for the pain he had endured, and for the little trust Victor had gained and now lost. He cried until sleep had at long last found Victor.


	3. Her heartbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mari explains Yuuri's injuries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wheeew this is along chapter. I feel bad for Mari, but more so for poor Yuuri :(

Mari

Though it had been many years since she’d heard the muffled sounds of Yuuri’s sobs through his bedroom door, they were not unfamiliar to her. Without question, she’d known what had happened between Yuuri and Victor. She didn’t need specifics to know Victor had betrayed his trust, that he had shattered his fragile glass heart. Mari knew by now it was best to allow Yuuri to sort through his emotions before disturbing him, although she wondered how long he’d cried before he fell asleep as it was now he early hours of the morning. Silently she prayed to whatever god was out there to watch over her little brother, to take away this guilt she felt over him. 

Without thought she found herself in Victors room. How disgusting, she thought upon seeing him. He had passed out quite pitifully on the floor, small sobs still racked at his chest despite his sleep. 

“Victor, get up.” With some resistance, she pulled victor up, attempting to put him back in his bed. 

“Yuuri…?” His words were quiet, reverent, as if he’d hoped to awaken to an angel, but perhaps that’s what Yuuri was to him. “oh…Mari..”

“Victor get back in bed at least…” She declared, with little ceremony dumping him back into the messy sheets. 

“Mari…Mari wait…Please..Tell me what happened to Yuuri…those scars…” Tears began to once more fall from Victors eyes. No matter their relationship, Mari couldn’t fathom why Victor felt so deeply over her brother. For seconds, in their small eternity stretching to eons, she contemplated the truth. She by no means had an obligation to tell Victor, but this way she’d at least save Yuuri the pain of an explanation. This way Victor could know the absolute and unbiased truth. As she began to speak, the memories came back in a flood…

 

The tears kept coming, no matter how hard she tried not too, Mari could not stop crying. The name had been on her wrist for years. She’d known Akihiro since childhood. Bright prince his name meant. Since those early playground days she’d hoped he truly would be her knight in shining armor, just like the ones in the American movies. Unfortunately, Mari’s life was not a fairly tale. She was not a princess. Her hair was blond-black and an unattractive fuzzy poof that she never managed to comb the right way. Now that shew was in grade 8 her skin had also grown worse, but none of that mattered to her because one day she’d grow out of it. She didn’t need to look like the popular girls, the ones that gossiped behind your back. They didn’t matter because she’d had Akihiro. 

Lately it had seemed to her that he’d been drifting away. They no longer sat on the railings outside of school and talked until sundown. No longer did he eat lunch with her, always taking the carefully shaped fruit from her bento. More and more he walked besides the prettier girls. The girls whom ignored the names on their wrists in favor of the more attractive boys. Her mother said that the boy’s grew out of this phase. Apparently the girls did too, but it seemed to Mari that this blip would be an eternity. Day in and day out she grew more anxious about Akihiro’s behavior. Did he not want to be with her anymore??

When she’d awoke that day, it seemed like any other. The sun gently poked through the curtains, infiltrating the small space of her room, searching for any eyes it might beg an audience with. Had she not already been awake rehearsing what she was to say to Akihiro. She might have given notice to the light hues of the sunrise, each ray luring the darkness back into its respite. 

“Mari- nee chan!!!” excited yelling followed by the patter of little footsteps crashed into her room. The bright smile of her little brother lit up her room more than the sun ever could have hoped to. On chubby legs the younger tottered over to Mari, engulfing what he could reach of her into a hug. “can you walk me to school again today??” The little one had just barely started his schooling. His shynedd had prevented him from making many friends and as a result Mari often walked Yuuri to school to ease his fears. Today; however, she could not indulge his wishes. 

“Not today, Yuuri. Have mom take you” With some annoyance she shrugged the little leech off her legs and left without so much as a goodbye to her sibling. Normal she’d give him at the least a hug, but today she was to ask Akihiro about his avoidance. She needed all the courage she could muster in order to ask of him the simple question of their relationship. As she walked, clouds grew above her, gently blanketing the sky with malcontent. Despite the foreboding weather, Mari couldn’t help but admire the cherry blossoms. It’s almost time for hanabe… she thought. Perhaps this year she could make it a date with Akihiro. 

 

Sluggishly she attended her classes, her mind constantly adrift to the anxiety in her mind. Every day dream playing out a different scenario. Would he accept her feelings for her? 

No daydream could have compared to the stark reality the world bears. 

“Would you quit it??I thought you’d get the message by now! I don’t care oboutthose stupid markings! I…I’lll love who I choose to love. Not someone that god or the universe or whoever the hell is out there said I have to be with!”

His harsh words still rang in her ears. Hot tears fell down her cheeks in quick sucession. She was not loved by the man whom she had reserved her heart for. Akihiro was no prince, he was a demon, luring girls to him with a sweet promise only to dash their hearts, like a rabbit with it’s leg caught in a snare, Mari had fallen. Only on ethought rang clear in her head, to save Yuuri from the same heartbreak. He had been born with is mark, it was written in some strange foreign tongue. Yuuri was too little to begin to fathom it, but every chance he got he’d proudly show off the name of his soulmate. He didn’t even know them yet and he couldn’t be more in love with the concept of love. Mari was certain of her resolve to save YUuri. 

I have to save him, the thought rang in her head like the Joyanokane at new years. A hundred and eight times they pound and with each ring her heart sets In stone. When she picks up yuuri from school, he asks why she’s crying. Instead of the truth she tells him they’re going to play a new game. It might hurt him now, but in the long run he’d thank her, she was sure of it. 

A few miles from their house, their neighbor kept a constant fire, she’d always assumed he was burning trash, but now she wasn’t so sure. 

“You know if you touch it Yuuri, it doesn’t hurt.” Shed said, the cool tears on her cheeks vanishing against the blaze. To prove herself, she quickly glanced her hand in the fire. “The first person who can catch the flame wins.” She was only met with smiles as Yuuri eagerly stuck his hand into the flame, though before he could retract it she grabbed the ase of his arm as to nor burn himself. Forcibly she held his arm in the fire, hoping to burn away his marks. For all she had wanted, she’d not anticipated Yuuri’s struggle. Screams pierced out into the sky as he tried in vain to shake off his sister. Tripping, he fell into the blaze that lashed out with the hatred of a thousand suns, the only thing saving his head from the blaze, the grip his sister yet possessed on his arm. Yuuri was stuck, pinned down by one of the many logs decomposing in the fire, the energy they release burning away at the small boy’s flesh. In a panic she attempted to pull him out, though the skin upon his arm had been so badly burned that upon gripping it, it peeled away as if it were tissue paper in her hand. Screaming, crying she ran the rest of the mile back to the onsen and screamed for her mother. By the time they returned to yuuri he had passed out, his blood gushing, beginning t o extinguish the inferno around him. 

They’d gotten to the hospital just in time to save his life. Even though he was out of the fire, his flesh still cooked for hours later. Third degree burns, she’d heard the doctors whisper in dark hallways that reeked with the stench of bleach and death. She’d never liked hospitals, but now more than ever as she sat in her brothers room, the yellow fluorescent lighting illuminating his misery. Bandages covered his body. His pudgy hands and legs now unmoving as he lay screaming. If it had been his head, he would have died... At least that’s what the doctors said. No matter o reassurance from the hospital could calm her mothers tears against the onslaught of screams emitted from Yuuri’s tiny lungs. In spite of his pain, the morphine and physical exhaustion lured him into sleep. 

He stayed in the hospital for weeks, his fragile skin tearing like paper. Every time the nurses changed his bandages, along with it would come skin, and every time it would bring fresh tears. In his pain he was loved, never was Yuuri alone. Either their mother or father would be constantly at his side. When he was tired they would sing. When he was sad they would hold him as gently as one could manage. But more than anything Yuuri wept for the name now lost forever upon his wrist, buried under cements of scar tissue and puss. Mari tried to explain to him why she’d did it, burned away his chance at happiness, but Yuuri only pushed her away. He still loved her, allowing her in the hospital room to watch over him. Perhaps he felt pity for her broken heart, at least that’s what mari liked to think. 

She lorded over his recovery, ignoring the glares of her parents and neighbors as she helped him walk again when they’d returned home. Wherever they went mari was behind him with sunscreen and hats to protect his sensitive, still healing skin. He had been burned all over his body, the inferno’s teeth biting into his small body, but nothing had been more affected than his left side where his body had been pushed down into the embers. 

He never said he forgave his sister outright, but She kept tending to him so that one day she may earn his forgiveness if she ever could. She was at every dance lesson, and when he started skating, for those first few years she would attend every practice. She loved watching Yuuri grow, though as he did, those angry scars grew with him, only expanding the map of misery so clearly laid upon his body. 

By the time he was noticed in the world of professionals, he’d grown shy, nearly always covering up. He even did this in their own home so as to avoid questions from the guests. As the years passed mari’s guilt only expanded. All of Yuuri’s anxiety and depression falling squarely upon mari’s shoulders for the burden she forced him to bear. She often wondered to herself why she couldn’t have simply cried to her mother about Akihiro like the other girls in her class. 

Everything came crashing down upon her once more as she told the story to victor, now she was crying too. 

“You did that to your own brother..”he whispered, refusing to look her in the eyes. 

“I hate myself every day for what I did…Why were you so intent on hurting him like this anyways?” Throwing the insult back to Victor, she took a drink of the last of his sake. She watched in astonishment as he washed off the carefully applied makeup to reveal a small tattoo upon his wrist. The mark of a soulmate. It was a name she knew well. Yuuri Katsuki.


	4. 勝生 勇利

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor little anxiety katsudon. This chapter was a bit more relaxed than the last one, but we'll see where this goes (._.) I just want them to be happy

Yuuri

 

Victor had not disturbed him. To some degree Yuuri preferred it that way, that in his grief he should be left alone. He was naïve to think that Victor could ever let him alone, that he’d understand him, let alone show him respect. What hurt the most was not the exposing of his injuries, but that his idol could now see the ugly, painful truth of him. Simply put, he’d always though he was undesirable physically due to his wounds, but the shock so clearly etched upon Victors face only proved his suspicions. 

After making up his mind that he’d sulked enough, Yuuri dragged himself to the rink. No matter Victors personal views, Yuuri had decided to continue skating under him. The morning was beautiful, and it would be a shame to waste the day in pity. After so many years of allowing himself to be put down, he was finally in a spot where he was more so indifferent to the comments on his appearance from strangers. He no longer cared about the quiet whispers of children or the averted eyes of his peers. That was until he came into his own on the ice. The other skaters with their immense beauty, in yuuri’s mind, did not deserve to be put next to something so horrifically scarred as he. .. 

Technically, Yuuri was not supposed to practice today, but as he often did while anxious, he sought the ice in times of need. Upon arriving he was surprised to find the public gone, and even more surprised to find his coach on the ice. 

 

“oh…Yuuri, I didn’t expect you to come in today.” The older skating to the edge of the rink faster than his heart could beat. HE never expected Yuuri to skate with him any time in the next millennia, let alone speak to him ever again. The horrors of Yuuri’s accident still fresh in his mind, Victor was careful of his presentation, but he couldn’t hide the flush in his cheeks upon seeing Yuuri. 

“I…you’re my coach, right..” Yuuri spoke quietly, his words on the verge of feeble as he fiddled with his backpack straps. Dashing hhis eyes away, he felt every nerve in his body urging him to run from the rink. To retire from the skating world and quietly hide his shame, with no soulmate and no apparent skating future, what else did he have?

“oh yes! Yes of course I’m still your coach! Yuuri i…” Hesitating ever so briefly, the champion looked down upon his student, no…not pity, but rather empathy for his soulmate rocked through victor. Behind his scars, Victor knew there was a name that could never be reached. The answer to a question he had lost all right to ask about. His only wish to protect the smaller skater, to embrace him and take upon his shoulders yuuri’s fears and tasks, though he felt that with every passing moment, the dream in which they belonged to each other slowly slipped out of his hands, grains of sand washing away in the larger current of time. “I’d like to tie your skates If that’s okay?”

Relief flowed through Yuuri, he’d expected Victor to ask about his scars, though perhaps his coach had been too drunk to remember the ordeal. .. No matter, he was perfectly content to avoid the subject completely. Even assuming that his coach now knew, yuuri still covered up. Long sleeves over his mountains of scars, gloves to hide even the edges of the burns. The two sat in silence s Victor tied his skates, careful not to make them too tight or too loose. Though it was a small act, it was a small bond of trust between them.

“We can take it easy today if you like, Yuuri”

“No..No I’m okay.”Standing he made his way to the ice, depositing his blade guards on the rink wall. They started their normal rituals. Victor in his coaching and Yuuri attempting to take his instruction. Despite Yuuri’s physical willingness, his mind drifted elsewhere..

It had been four years since the accident, today was Yuuri’s eighth birthday. Later he’d have a party at the rink, all his classmates would be there, and there would be cake. All day he waited, nearly bursting with excitement for the party. He was the first one on the ice, all too eager to show his friends how to skate. When one fell he’d help pick them up. It wasn’t until presents when his happiness dissipated as the fresh morning dew against the suns onslaught of heat. 

He had been given a multi language dictionary.

“It’s so when you get your soulmate you can know their name!”The girl was beaming, later Yuuri would call her Yuuko, later he would think of her asa friend. After all it wasn’t her fault, Yuuri had transferred schools since the accident. He couldn’t stand the looks of pity from his former friends and teachers. 

Upon seeing the gift he burst into tears, floodgates opening, years of pent up emotion collapsing upon the dictionaries foreign pages. Yuuri’s soulmate would never know him, they were perhaps fated to be as lonely as the chubby boy, crying over the written word.   
Mari, of course was the first to swoop in and comfort him, quickly hushing the murmurs from other children. In quick succession she gave hallow promises to help yuuri find his soul mate, whomever they were. 

Yuuri’s tears dried and time moved on.

Yuuri was thirteen now and despite his new position as a teenager, his happiness was still rooted in childish indulgences. He was an incredibly sweet boy, quick to blush, quick to hide himself away. Every day it seemed he went on about Viktor. His family, at the least were happy he’d found something he loved so much in skating and in his idols. He was far too busy to even begin to think about his appearance with the time demands of skating. 

Later on that year, yuuri became home schooled. He’d tried to conceal his depression, his anxiety as long as he could, but when he landed himself in the hospital after ‘one too many’ pain pills, his parents knew something wasn’t right. His scars made him all too easy of a target at school, and with Mari so far above him in age, he’d had no allies to stand with. Anxiety became a mass upon his heart and mind, an illness kind words could not fix. 

It only took a few days for Yuuri to agree to the medication. Even the brief time spent in the disgustingly bright children’s ward had been too much for him. The walls painted of bright colors, the nurses smiles and laughter masking the chasm of despair in which ones heart should lie…This all sickened Yuuri. Dutifully he took the medicine. Dutifully, he did his studies. Eventually he made it to college in Detroit, eventually he qualified for the grand Prix. A saga of events so quick He could scarcely believe it himself all leading up to the moments his idol, one he was just beginning to associate with the single syllable friend, ripped away his shrouds. Viktor had exposed the myriad of marionette strings pulling on Yuuri. 

As he skated, the weight of his past fell, collapsing on him once again. Even with two feet he could not steady his landing, the ice greeted him with the friendliness of fire. Hot tears poured down his cheeks, tributaries to his grief. 

“Yuuri! Are you alright?!” Viktor looked down upon his student, concern filling his eyes. 

Without words, yuuri cried, allowing sobs to overtake his body. What he didn’t expect wasthe warm embrace of his coach. 

“shh shh, yuuri, it’s alright-“

As quickly as he’d been embraced, Yuuri pushed his counter away, repulsed by the man who’d exposed his injury. “G-get away! Y-you don’t want to coach someone like me! Why are you wasting your time!”

“Hey…You’re not a waste of time…Yuuri-Yuuri listen-“

“I’m such a failure…Such an ugly failure…”

“you’re not ugly in the slightest…You’re beautiful” Slowly, carefully Victor removed yuuri’s gloves, placing small kisses upon his scarred hand. “ I don’t care about these scars yuuri” His voice was tender, softly carrying with it the reassurance of a mother to her child “I’m sorry for last night-“

“I should just retire.” Victor knew, by now Yuuri had blocked him out. Yuuri was in his own shattering world of grief, withdrawn deep into himself. “Go back to Russia Victor.”

“I can’t do that. I have to coach you. Besides my soul mate is here.”

“w-what.w-who” Yuuri stammered, his mind momentarily taken from Victors betrayal.   
Removing his gloves, he displayed Yuuri’s name, answering him with a kiss. “It’s you, yuuri.”

Before he could process his shock, yuuri’s legs carried him off the ice, barely thinking to fling off his skates before running out of the rink. He hadn’t even put on shoes. His feet emitting small pit pats on the pavement as he ran, carrying him far away from Victor, carrying him away from where his happiness could lie. He ran until the evening sun had set, he ran until his legs collapsed from under him and his body fell into the beaches welcoming arms. Panting he lay there, numb to his emotions. After what seemed to be hours Tiredness overtook him and there he slept blanketed only by the stars.

**Author's Note:**

> What's under Yuuri's gloves?? If you liked this chapter, please check out my other YOI fic, From When The Night Perished!!


End file.
